She Only Smokes When She Drinks
by cora-stacy
Summary: Pre-Series: Laurel is having a bad day, but there is one person who can read her like a book.


A/N: Hey everyone! This is my first attempt at a strictly Tommy/ Laurel story. It is inspired by the song " She only smokes when she drinks" by Joe Nichols. Definitely check it out :) Let me know what you think in the reviews as I have a couple other ideas similar to this one I might bounce around.

Disclaimer: Arrow belongs to CW/DC

* * *

It was a bad day.

All the major holidays were bad. Each one that passed without word or development was a sign that there would be nothing in the future but missed holidays and birthdays. Thanksgiving, Christmas, their dating anniversary, however this was one of the hardest ones, Sarah's birthday.

Laurel had gone to school, then her internship before heading home in hopes of some familial comfort. What she got was the far too typical scene of her mother and father screaming at each other for the most minor perceived infractions. They hadn't even noticed she came home. She dropped her school bag, got changed and left again calling out for them not to wait up if she was late.

That was how she had found herself here. The bar couldn't decide if it wanted to be a club or a lounge. The music was quieter but there was room to dance of you felt the urge. The blue martini in front of her supposedly had 6 types of alcohol in it, but she couldn't taste any of them over the juice they mixed in. It was doing a decent enough job of dulling the anger and sadness.

Damn them. Oliver for betraying her. Sarah for following him. Her father for not remembering he still has a living daughter. Damn them all.

She finished off her drink and felt around in her purse. She pulled out a small unopened pack of cigarettes. Oliver, for all his other vices, hated smoking. A few years earlier when they became an official couple she had quit but every once in awhile, especially when she was down, she would indulge. As she searched her purse she discovered the downfall of the only occasional smoker: She forgot to buy a lighter. She sighed in frustration and ordered another martini, double sized. The cigarettes were about to go back in her bag unsmoked when a male hand slid a lighter down the bar towards her. She looked up to see a tall, clean cut guy, around her age with red hair smiling. He shrugged.

"It looked like you forgot something." She opened the pack, pulled one out and lit it. After the initial drag she passed the lighter back.

"Thanks." She smiled enough to be polite, she hoped.

"No problem, might as well help while I still can. Another three months and we'll all be relegated to the sidewalks." Starling City was following the pattern in the rest of the country and banning smoking indoors.

"I don't do this enough to be overly concerned." Laurel shrugged.

"Obviously not." The mystery man teased. He extended his hand. "I'm Ryan by the way." Laurel found herself struggling between her desire to be alone and her instinct not to be rude.

"Laurel" She shook the hand then turned back to her drink. Ryan attempted to make small talk with her while she finished her martini. By this point the pain of the day was fading into the background of her mind, but her mood was not improving. She gave one word answers when absolutely necessary or would just stare at the TV over the bar. As she finished the second glass She stood up to find Ryan in her path.

"I agree, getting to know each other is over rated. Care to dance?" he cocked his head in the direction of the half full floor behind them.

"Actually I was heading to the washroom." Ryan blushed embarrassed.

"Sure, sure, I'll um, wait here." She slid by him and made her way to the ladies room. Ryan stood at the bar debating his next move.

" I'd say you've got a fifty percent chance of her coming back. However, she is definitely worth those odds." Ryan glanced over to see a shorter brown haired man.

"And you would be?"

"A friend." Tommy stepped closer. " Can I ask you a question?"

" I get the feeling you're going to anyways."

" Smart guy! That puts your odds up to about fifty seven. So Smart Guy let me ask you a question: Is she smoking tonight?"

"Huh?" Ryan was confused.

" I'm trying to give you the most accurate odds here." Tommy signalled the bartender who poured each man a glass of whiskey. " So, is she smoking?" Ryan stared at him for a moment before answering.

"Yes."

"Hmm, ok that means she's not happy, brings you down to about forty two percent. What was she drinking? Red wine? Beer?"

"No" Tommy hissed.

"Ouch. You're down still but not out. I'd say odds are about thirty. Did you try dancing? Wait, if she's already on the liquor she probably turned you down for that." Tommy's arched an eyebrow at the angry face looking back at him. " Ah, see I thought that's what happened. You see I just got here so I only saw-"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Ryan was getting annoyed. He used his height to loom over Tommy "I bet you're just trying to discourage me so you can have her all to herself."

"Woah! Easy there bud! I told you I'm just a friend. Well, more of a friend of a friend. If anything I'm trying to save you the trouble. She's not in the mood, trust me."

"Listen go get your own , ok rich boy?" Ryan glanced towards the bathrooms. " Now it would be really great if you could leave since she's coming back."

"Sure, but one parting tip?" Tommy picked up his glass from the bar. Ask her to get out of here and go for a walk. If you have any shot at all, she'll say yes." He moved away quickly , avoiding Laurel's eyeline on approach. She nodded at Ryan and went back to her bar stool. She ordered her third and started drinking as soon as it arrived. Temptation got the better of him and Ryan decided to ask.

"Hey Laurel, You know, I'm not really feeling the music in here tonight. Do you want to maybe go for a walk? Maybe we can test that whole smoking outside thing." She looked up at him and his pleasant enough smile.

"I think I'll have to pass, but you go ahead." As he finished his drink and grabbed his coat she stopped him. "I'm just not in a good place tonight, trust me." He nodded and headed out.

Halfway through her drink another one appeared in front of her. She looked at the bartender to object but he shook his head and passed her a note.

_Hey,_

_I know you're looking for some 'Laurel time' tonight and I didn't want to interrupt. Maybe we can talk about how much life sucks over Chinese tomorrow?_

_Text me,_

_TM_

The smile may have been small, but it was genuine. She shot off a quick text.

**8pm, Gold Dragon. Don't let me down Merlyn.**

She took a sip of the new drink in front of her. The reply was almost instant.

**Never , if I can help it.**


End file.
